


33

by Coraleeveritas



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Battlestar Galactica Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 06:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8434807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coraleeveritas/pseuds/Coraleeveritas
Summary: Climbing from the cockpit of her antiquated Valyrian bird, Captain Brienne Tarth fought against her desperate need to yawn and instead settled on rubbing the grit away from her tired eyes. Thirty three minutes were all they had before the next attack and, so far, she hadn't felt like she had the authority to waste a single second. In a little over half an hour the walker's raiding party would have found them again, despite the best efforts of Lts Marbrand and Mormont taking them light years away with each jump, and Brienne knew she was spending more time in between the kamikaze missions debriefing her ever dwindling fight crew rather than crashing out in her bunk.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This has been in the works for a while now, but was finished primarily for appreciation week under the prompts of 'duty' and 'protection.' It's based on my very favourite episode of Battlestar Galactica, 33 (hence the title and the general story).
> 
> Thank you to the wonderful RoseHeart and Sandwiches for all their support with this and thank you again to all the lovely ladies at JBO who got excited over this idea. I may, at some point, come back and work more in this universe.
> 
> Anything you recognise doesn't belong to me, I'm just moving characters around into different universes. Again.

Climbing from the cockpit of her antiquated Valyrian bird, Captain Brienne Tarth fought against her desperate need to yawn and instead settled on rubbing the grit away from her tired eyes. Thirty three minutes were all they had before the next attack and, so far, she hadn't felt like she had the authority to waste a single second. In a little over half an hour the walker's raiding party would have found them again, despite the best efforts of Lts Marbrand and Mormont taking them light years away with each jump, and Brienne knew she was spending more time in between the kamikaze missions debriefing her ever dwindling fight crew rather than crashing out in her bunk. But she never could rest properly while her pilots were in danger.

Suppressing another body shaking yawn with a series of slow, deep breaths, Brienne felt something catch in her throat and she couldn't stop from whipping her head around the crowded hanger. Watching the group of mechanics crawling all over each dangerously disintegrating bird, she suddenly needed more than ever to check if the Lion's gods given luck had finally come to an end during their last pass.

Lieutenant Jaime 'Lion' Lannister was among the most experienced member of the academy trained and amateur pilots that now made up her air crew, his reputation and prowess often proceeding him, but years in a Valyrian had also left him cocky, reckless and completely insubordinate whenever it came to following her strict orders. And in spite of all that, Jaime remained the closest thing she had to a real friend.

Though he was a good decade older than Brienne, money and model good looks adding to the list of obvious differences between the pair, they had coincidentally started their military careers on the same day. While Jaime had nursed a desire for deep space exploration and adventure for so long there'd been stars on the ceiling of his childhood bedroom when the thought first came to him, it was only possible once he'd been discharged from the civilian police force on Dragonstone. When his father had been disappointed by the choice, Jaime had pretended not to care.

Brienne's journey, on the other hand, had begun dusting crops in a tiny twin engine, her dad letting her go up as soon as she'd been old enough to see over the dashboard. The Tarth family farm on Storm's End was far too small and remote to successfully fulfil all her dreams, though, and her last day of school marked her first step into a universe of possibility. Her dad used to call twice a week just to talk, becoming a long distance parent despite Brienne's childhood being a thing of the past.

Still, she had kept him in the dark as much as she could about the incident on Baelor, officially classed by her instructor as a 'misunderstanding' between several third year trainees. She'd been told that in the future she would laugh off the unprovoked attack like it had been less than terrifying, even though her bloody, weeping wounds and Jaime's shattered right hand had left them both in need of recuperation. The long days spent together in sick bay pushing them closer and closer towards a truce after years of butting heads, still the top two in their class in every flight test they'd taken.

Their time as cadets on the great battleship _Ice_ had only cemented the new friendship and now she'd saved his life too many times to count out in the unforgiving chasm of space, Jaime repaying the perceived debt over and over again by bringing her safely back each time she'd been unable to outrun danger. Brienne honestly didn't know how she'd cope if his name ended up on their list of lost souls again.

As if her thoughts were being written across her freckled forehead, Jaime chose that moment to look up from where he was laughing off an adrenaline high with Needle, a teenage wunderkind recruited into their ranks after the fall of humanity, and made sure to catch Brienne's eye, grinning like she was the only thing he would ever need to see. She felt the colour rush to her cheeks automatically, a reaction he seemed to throughly enjoy, even though Jaime wasn't in the habit of following through with anyone who found themselves on the end of his almost accidental flirtations.

Without a word, he waved her over and Brienne shook her head, knowing that although no one truly disliked the recently appointed commander of the air group, they weren't desperate to spend time with her either, not like Needle and Viper and Hound were with Jaime. She turned away from his pouting frown, unable to accept how many nights of sleep she'd lost worrying if he had perished on Casterly, during the initial wave of destruction, now that he was here and so alive. Brienne had only escaped the carnage herself by being called up to help General Lannister, Jaime's father, with the decommission of the ship that had inadvertently saved thousands of people, outdated operating systems and a fleet of retired fighter jets like a near impenetrable coat of armour against the walkers.

But it had been days of restless mourning before Jaime came back to them, on an equally ancient ship, flanked by the new de facto president, former secretary for water and power, Catelyn Stark, and one of the greatest scientific minds in living history, Dr Stannis Baratheon. Jaime had dropped his bag in the hanger to salute his father, who very nearly broke into a smile, and wrapped Brienne up in a completely inappropriate hug now that she outranked him, murmuring thickly in her ear. "Thought you could see the stars without me, Captain Sapphire? Not fracking likely."

In the depths of her heart, she'd wanted to hold him for a few seconds longer, take the time to accept what had been returned, but the rest of the crew, who had only heard of him at that point in tall tales and secondhand whispers, quickly pulled him away for a drink. He wasn't one of their own yet, but he _was_ a man reborn, a bringer of hope, and they'd lost so much already. Brienne didn't let herself cry until she'd closed and locked the door of her, thankfully, private room.

The first wave of Walkers found them only hours later.

Counting her pilots into the ready room for the hundredth time, Brienne sucked in a breath as Jaime pressed a little too close for comfort, his jokes becoming more pointed and pronounced as the hours ticked on. She'd seen him drunk and exhausted too many times before to know he meant nothing by the need for friendly proximity, after the especially heavy cadet parties she'd always ended up sleeping in his bed, just because arguing with Jaime's continued insistence for company felt like harder work than lying in his arms and closing her eyes. The rest of the flight crew either didn't know or didn't care about their history, though, and as romantic relationships were strictly against regulations, Brienne was doing her best to not show any favouritism in case their superiors saw something that wasn't there.

"Lt Lannister," she snapped, just as Jaime started to lick his lips, now hovering inches away from her own. Brienne squared her shoulders and coughed, waiting until he seemed to shake off whatever had temporarily blinded him to the gravity of their situation, a fairytale princess waking from a magic spell. If sleep deprivation was affecting him that badly, though, Brienne knew she was going to have _that_ talk with him again. "Stop messing around and sit your ass down, Lannister."

"Only because you asked so nicely," he retorted with another slow spreading smile, looking like he was seconds away from falling back onto a cocky salute. "Captain."

She glared half heartedly at his back as Jaime crossed the room and collapsed down beside Viper, shuffling the same set of notes the Colonel had given her when this all started. The dark Dornishman lacked inhibitions at the best of times, not knowing when best to lower his voice, but it was clear he was making no attempt this time to keep their conversation private.

"It's the end of the world, Lion, might as well fuck the CAG. It's not like any of us can change what happened and you two can probably do a lot in thirty-three minutes."

Brienne cleared her throat. "Before I start properly, I need to remind everyone that comms are to be used for official business only. I don't want to hear about missed poker games or bed hopping or who needs a shower more. Let's keep the focus on staying alive out there, okay?"

"What if someone having a shower is a matter of life and death?" Needle piped up from the back row, elbowing Hound awake with a sharp jab to his ribs.

"Let me know and I'll put them on the next rota. Are there any other questions?" She gritted her teeth as Jaime raised his hand. "Any other relevant questions?"

"Mine _is_ relevant, Sapphire," he pouted. "I just wanted to know if we're going to get some time off when Dacey and Addam finally figure out how to get one step ahead of these bastards."

"There'll be-"

"A rota," Jaime sighed, crossing his arms. "I want at least a week in bed when you write it."

"Me too. With a girl on each arm," Viper added with a self satisfied nod.

"You know I can't authorise that," she replied bluntly. "Or support anybody sleeping around. Do I need to go through war time regulations again?"

"What about steak?" Needle asked. "Can you authorise dinner?"

"Why would you want steak?" Hound growled as Brienne allowed chaos to rule for a moment. Maybe she could learn how to sleep standing up while they all bickered like children around her. "Chicken is the only way to go."

"And where would you find a chicken out here? It's not like we're going to find a planet of them, all ruled by a great chicken overlord." Needle's new friend, Sculls, butted in, earning another grumble of discontent from Hound, Brienne taking the noise as her cue to try and call the room back to order.

"Guys, come on, I-"

"I just want a bath. That's not too much to ask for, Captain, surely?" Rose interrupted, running her fingers through the brunette waves freed by her unraveling braid, Ember and Snow nodding emphatically along. The trio of women had come from opposite ends of the solar system but had bonded over the loss caused by Hound and Wolf being separated leaving Baelor. Brienne only wished she'd been there to protect the young pilot, like she'd promised the Admiral she would always do during her promotion ceremony.

"Are you all stupid?" a new voice bounced into the room from the doorway, surprising Brienne and making Needle and Lion grin with unrestrained glee. Lyanna Mormont, Little Bear, was the fiercest thirteen year old in the fleet, lucky enough to have been amongst the first visitors on the decommissioned boat. She'd taken death and destruction in her stride, much better than some battle weary commanders, but Brienne had drawn the line at flight training even if the girl spent most of her time with Needle. Still, much to Dacey's chagrin, Jaime had given her sister a call sign and seemed to find great amusement whenever the crew were being bossed around by Brienne's accidental, tiny enforcer. "Do you know how much of a waste that would be? And you," she pointed at Jaime and it was Brienne's turn to swallow a laugh. "Just because you're called 'Lion' doesn't mean you have to act like one."

"Thank you for that, Lyanna," Brienne replied with a brightly forced smile. "Is everyone ready to listen now?"

Jaime huffed out an undistinguishable word of acquiescence, starting a swirling wave of nods and murmurs that moved around the room like water running down a drain. Rose offered up her most apologetic smile while Needle stopped badgering Hound for just long enough to let the older man rest his eyes.

"I'm going to take all your suggestions under advisement," Brienne promised, her words feeling empty and hollow. Catching Jaime's eye as she spoke, she realised with just one look that he knew her way better than she'd thought, even after so many years. This wasn't easy on any of them, but she had taken on more than her fair share of guilt and grief, and if they'd still been cadets, Brienne doubted she wouldn't have been spending every minute with him each time the CAG told them to rest. He smiled sadly and she fiercely blinked the unneeded rose of emotions away.

"We might be able to work some things out in a couple of days," she continued, lying an art she'd never needed to learn until a few days ago. "But, for now, you've got a little over twenty minutes to sleep, take your stims and ready yourself for the next fight."

"Does that-"

"Yes, Lion, that means you, too."

After all that had happened to him, Jaime still didn't know when to back down from an upcoming fight, pushing his luck with the inexperienced commander. "I don't fly with stims. They fudge with your reflexes, your reaction time. No way, Brienne."

"Just...just help me out here, Jaime. This is coming directly from the Colonel, you can have a look at the communication if you don't believe me. We've got no choice," Brienne tried to leave little room for manoeuvre, but she was struggling. "We don't get to chose which rules we follow and which ones we don't." She took a breath as a wry smile flickered along his lips, the line he had once bitterly spat at her sounding strange in kinder, more stoic tones. "Okay, that's it. Be careful out there, everyone."

As the room dispersed, there were few pilots who had anything more than a farewell to say to the CAG, Rose hesitating for a few seconds as if she was about to apologise for her earlier interruption, but it was only Jaime that stayed behind, barely stretching his legs to allow Viper to pass. The men exchanged a word or two while Brienne pretended not to watch, already feeling like she'd even put on show under the rising intensity of Jaime's green glare, the air seeming to crackle like a storm was on the rise.

"You can't believe-"

"I don't care-"

They both paused at the same time, Brienne crossing her arms as Jaime lounged back in his seat, placing his feet carefully on the table in front of him, daring her to make a less measured move. He succeeded in making her narrow her eyes further, knowing she was in no mood to deal with his games, and Brienne jumped back into the fray before he could gain any sort of advantage.

"I don't care," she repeated through gritted teeth, emphasising each syllable. "I don't. Whatever you _want_ to do, you'll find a way of doing. But do you really want to die today?"

He shrugged. "Today, tomorrow, next week, it's going to happen to all of us sooner rather than later out here. Dacey is a technical wizard, but even she might not be able to get us out of this shit."

Brienne grimaced at hearing Jaime summarise their situation so concisely, he'd never once lied to her and he clearly wasn't starting now. " _Jaime_."

"It's the truth."

"So you're just going to give up?" she asked incredulously. "I didn't take you for a coward."

The look he shot her could have killed, colder than the depths of winter, and as Brienne thought about walking away and leaving him to his black hole of apathy, Jaime rose to his feet, apparently sick of seeing her loom over him. "I'm not," he hissed. "But you stand there and preach about staying safe and taking our pills like good little children, like you're reading out of a manual. My father made you the fracking CAG, act like one."

"And what the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you can't keep trying to please everyone. We're not your friends in this room. Do you think our great general and his XO got to where they are by being nice? We can all bitch and moan about baths and beds as much as we want but you have to be above that. Be careful out there?'" Jaime laughed harshly. "'Good hunting' is what you say."

"If you know so much maybe you should be doing this," Brienne quickly spat back. "I can go back to w-worrying about-" She could feel herself coming apart at the seams, biting into her wobbling bottom lip as a waterfall of exhaustion threatened to overflow. "M-myself. I didn't want-"

"You didn't want a promotion? You could have said 'no'. You'd probably be dead now, but you could have said 'no'."

Brienne shook away the idea that he could have been concerned about her wellbeing during his evacuation with President Stark, focusing on the irritation he always seemed to awaken in her. "And you think your father would have heard me? It was an order, Jaime, there was no one else. You don't think he'd have chosen someone more qualified, given half a chance?"

"Maybe. But no one would have cared as much as you."

"The Colonel-"

"The Colonel would have told us all to go to hell had we pulled the same crap with him. And he can't fly."

"Shut up."

"Only if you come here," he murmured and she shook her head, still teetering on the edge. "One of your idiot pilots is refusing to take his pills. If I were you I would think it's well past time you drag his amazing ass down to sickbay and make him do what he's told." He smiled, patiently waiting, for the first time in his life, for her to return it slowly, sadly.

"I'm glad I'm not working for you."

"Damn straight."

"S-so," she stuttered, unsure as to which direction Jaime was now leading the conversation. "Do I have to throw you over my shoulder and haul you down to sickbay?"

"That would be a sight to see," he grinned, showing all his teeth as he yawned through whatever amusement remained. "But, no, I'll be a good boy and take my pills, Brienne."

Jaime indicated she was welcome to use his lap while she swayed on her feet, realising that a week in bed didn't sound like an entirely bad idea, but she flopped down into the seat next to him to hand over the vial of drugs.

"Ever the Girl Scout," he quipped, dry swallowing the tablets whole before patting his lap again. Her protests still going unheard, Brienne rolled her eyes and took a step into the unknown, gingerly lowering her weight into the offered space. Someone, Viper most likely, had closed the door as they left so that they were locked away from the rest of the crew and she finally found herself grateful for his antics. 

Jaime wasted no time in putting his head on her shoulder, his arms around her waist, waiting until she relaxed to breathe. She could have fallen asleep right there and then, comfortably surrounded by her best friend's attempts to keep her grounded. "We could go back to your quarters for what? A minute?"

"Let's just stay here."

He exhaled, tightening his hold as she closed her eyes, her forearms balancing on his shoulders, keeping them close. Brienne knew The Walkers were coming, that they would find them again soon enough and battle lines would have to be drawn, but until then, until the moment she needed to leave the ready room, she knew she'd found a safe place in the eye of a storm.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
